'Bowlers got us there'

'Bowlers got us there'

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews credited his bowlers for his side's thumping innings victory over Bangladesh in the first Test. He believed that the win, which was their second-largest innings victory in Test cricket, was set-up by his bowlers.
“I thought we played some pretty good cricket to get there. The bowlers got us there in the first innings, when Bangladesh were all out for 232. It was a stepping stone for us to make a big score. Once we got 700 there was no way back for Bangladesh,” said Mathews at the post-match conference.
“Our bowlers have improved quite a lot in the last few games. They've been bowling brilliantly. The fast bowlers were in really good rhythm -- so were the spinners. I'm really pleased with the way Dilruwan (Perera) bowled in the second innings because we had to give him that exposure,” he added.
With two spinners and three pacers, including him, Mathews believed that his current bowling line-up had the perfect balance.
“In the past we had Murali(Muttiah Muralidaran) running through sides and in the recent past we had Rangana Herath running through sides. I haven't been in a team where we had all four bowlers equally good. They are delivering with the new ball and with the oldish ball,” said Mathews.
Bangladesh lost the game during the pressure situations, according to Mathews, who plans to expose the weakness in the next Test as well.
“There were no demons (in the pitch). But I thought we handled those pressure situations well, whereas they (Bangladesh) didn't,” he said.

Stay updated on the go with The Daily Star News App. Click here to download it for your device.